April 23, 2007

BULLDOG WEEKLY UPDATE: Men's Lacrosse Claims First Ever Regular Season Conference Title; Women's Tennis Brings Home Fourth-Straight NE-10 Title

April 23, 2007

Bryant Sports News Update
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WOMEN'S TENNIS CAPTURES FOURTH-STRAIGHT NE-10 TITLE; MEN'S LACROSSE CLINCHES FIRST-EVER NORTHEAST-10 REGULAR SEASON TITLE
It's been a tremendous spring sports season so far and two Bryant teams wrapped up a conference championship and a regular season title this past week.  On Sunday, the women's tennis team picked up its fourth-straight conference tournament title thanks to a 5-3 win over Saint Michael's ... On Saturday, the red-hot Bryant men's lacrosse team rolled to an 11-5 win over Saint Anselm to clinch its first NE-10 title and right to host the NE-10 Conference tournament in May.

BULLDOG WEEKLY ROUNDUP ...

BASEBALL (23-16, 16-7 NE-10)
The Bryant baseball team dropped a three-game series with Franklin Pierce over the weekend.  The Bulldogs host Merrimack Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.  Senior Mike Rocco (Tewksbury, Mass.) notched his 200th career hit with a first inning single Saturday at Franklin Pierce, becoming the fifth Bryant player in school history to reach the 200 hit plateau.  Adam Vuolo (Walpole, Mass.) tied the school record for career saves with his 15th in Friday's win over Bentley.  

MEN'S LACROSSE (8-2, 7-0 NE-10)
Ranked fourth in the country, the men's lacrosse team stayed red hot.  The Bulldogs stretched its win streak to eight games following wins over Assumption and Saint Anselm this week. The win over Saint Anselm clinches the program's first-ever regular season Northeast-10 Conference title and will enter the conference tournament (May 1-6) as the top seed. The Bulldogs travel to Merrimack Tuesday for a makeup game and visit Southern NH on Friday before travelling to Baltimore, Maryland this weekend to face Limestone in a game played at Johns Hopkins University.

WOMEN'S LACROSSE (7-4, 5-3 NE-10)
The Bulldogs split this past week's action, defeating New Haven 20-12 on a chilly Monday night before dropping a 15-14 triple overtime decision at Southern New Hampshire. Senior Shaun Leddy (Sea Girt, NJ) had 11 goals on the week including a career-best seven in the win over New Haven.

MEN'S TENNIS (10-8 overall, 8-2 NE-10)
The Bryant men's tennis team picked up a win over Saint Michael's in the NE-10 Conference quarterfinals but fell to top-seed Assumption 5-1 on Saturday at the Bryant Tennis Courts.  Sophomore Kevin Levinson (Pawcatuck, Conn.) was named first-team all-conference at No. 6 singles while senior Ben Caisse (Griswold, Conn.) was named third-team all-conference at No. 5 singles.

WOMEN'S TENNIS (14-5, 11-1 NE-10)
This year's senior class of Sacha Solomon (Bourne, Mass.) and Annette Jervasi (Colchester, Conn.), completed their amazing streak this past Sunday, leading the Bryant women's tennis team to its fourth-straight Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Championship.  Under the direction of coach Barbara Cilli (Providence '87), the third-seeded Bulldogs knocked off second seed Bentley 5-4 on Saturday and mustered up enough energy to knock off top-seed Saint Michael's 5-3 on Sunday to claim the title.  Michelle Burke (Barrington, R.I.) helped seal the win Sunday with a straight-set win at No. 3 singles.

SOFTBALL (18-11, 14-6 NE-10)
The Bulldogs swept a key doubleheader from UMass Lowell on Thursday but after a split with Saint Rose at home Saturday, the team dropped a doubleheader to Le Moyne on Sunday.  In game one, junior Janine Enos (Wareham, Mass.) took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before Emma Murphy knocked a double off the wall with one out. Le Moyne went on to tie the game in the fifth before erupting for three more in the sixth.  The Bulldogs host Merrimack today (Monday) for a makeup game at 3 p.m.

TRACK & FIELD
The Bryant outdoor track team set numerous school records this weekend at the MIT Spring Invitational.  On the women's side, Stephanie Montagno (Wakefield, Mass.) captured the 400-meters, setting a school record, winning in a time of 59.24. Nicole Radzik (Sutton, Mass.) also set a 23-year school record, by 32-seconds, placing second in the 5000-meters in 18:21.97.  On the men's side, Hafiz Greigre (Attleboro, Mass.) continued his dominance, setting school records by capturing the 100-meters in 10.63 and the 200-meters in 21.07. Teammate Alex Engel (Spencer, Mass.)  placed second in the 400-meters, while Joe Brennan was right behind him in third place. The Bulldogs will participate in the Brown Invitational next Saturday.

Bulldog Notes ...

OFFENSE WINS OVER DEFENSE IN SPRING FOOTBALL GAME SATURDAY
The Bryant University football team concluded its 2007 spring practice with the annual Black & Gold game Saturday afternoon.  The game, featuring the offense vs. defense saw the Bulldog offense come out on top, 42-24.  After a defensive battle at the start that saw the defensive side take a 6-4 lead after one, the offense awoke in the second, highlighted by a Jay Graber (Clarksburg, NJ) 55-yard scoring strike to Anthony Garafalo (Rockland, Mass.), giving the offense a 15-12 lead at the half. 

Howard University transfer Jerell Smith (Brooklyn, NY) ignited the offense in the second half, turning in several dazzling runs through the Bulldog defense.  The junior used his speed to run for 100 yards on just 10 carries, scoring twice.  The first coming on a five-yard run to the right and the second on a 15-yard run late in the fourth quarter.  Graber finished the game completing five passes for 109 yards.  Starter Charlie Granatell (Franklin Lakes, NJ), seeing action in the first quarter, completed seven passes for 72 yards.   Senior tailback Chris Peaks (Silver Spring, Md.) had 61 yards rushing. 

Defensively, seniors Chris Wohlheter (Newark, OH.) had three tackles and one fumble recover while James Lewis (New Haven, Conn.) had four tackles.  Don Smith (Attleboro, Mass.) chipped in with a pair of sacks on the afternoon.

The Bulldogs will open the 2007 football season on Saturday, September 8 when the Yellow Jackets of American International College visit Bulldog Stadium for a 1 p.m. game.

AWARDS BANQUET MAY 2
The annual Bryant University Awards Banquet will take place Wednesday, May 2 starting at 6 p.m. Among several awards expected to be handed out during the evening, Bryant will announce its male and female athletes of the year during the banquet. 

BLACK & GOLD GOLF OUTING JULY 23
The annual Black & Gold Golf Outing will take place Monday, July 23 at the Crystal Lake Golf resort in Burrillville, RI.  The tournament will kick off with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. 

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